Kitchen-cabinet.



H.I. BITTER. KITCHEN CABINET. APPLICATION FILED DEC-6,1917- 1 ,27 3,925. Patented July 30, 1918.

I I U II U II U II I% ((E J f- I vmzw "g V6 L/fl AZ Z a I a 1g Z 4 INVENTOR va J z-fi tmflier 67 /0 i M z A TTORNEY HENRY J. BITTER, OF TIPPECANOE CITY, OHIO.

KITCHEN-CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1918.

Application filed December 6, 1917. Serial No. 205,783.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. BITTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tippecanoe City, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Kitchen-Cabinets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to kitchen cabinets, and more particularly to a drawer and the manner of mounting the same in a kitchen cabinet, or similar structure.

It has been found desirable to rovide one of the lower compartments of a kitchen oabinet with a drawer, or sliding tray, by means of which the contents of the compartment may be withdrawn so that they will be readily accessible. Inasmuch as the compartment frequently contains food and the like it is desirable that it should be both dust proof and vermin proof, and it has, therefore, been customary heretofore to provide the same with a bottom plate, or closure, above which the drawer is mounted. The provision of this closure requires additional material and labor, with a corresponding increase in the cost of manufacture. It is desirable, therefore, that the drawer itself 3 0 be so constructed and mounted that when in its closed position it will constitute a partition which will effectually close the compartment against the entrance of dust or vermin from beneath the same. 7 r

It is further desirable, however, that the drawer be provided with antifrictional rollers, or so mounted that it can be easily operated, as the load on the same is frequently. quite heavy.

The object of the present invention is to provide an easily operated drawer of such a character, and so mounted, that whenit is in its closed position it will form a tight partition, or closure, across the bottom of the compartment and effectually exclude dust and vermin; and, further, to provide such a drawer which will be very simple in construction and operation, will have but few parts, and can be produced at a low cost.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lower portion of a kitchen cabinet with one corner of the drawer broken away; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 look-' ing in the direction of the arrows, withthe drawer in its closed position; Fig. 3 1s a similar view with the drawer partly open; and Fig. 4. is a sectional view taken on the line4.-.4ofFig.3.

In carrying out my invention I provide the compartment .with suitable supports upon which the drawer may rest when in its closed position, and which areof such a character that a tight joint will be formed between the same and the drawer, thus causing the drawer and the supports to constitute a partition, or closure, for the bottom of the compartment. I also provide' the drawer and the structure with cooperating parts which will lift the drawer out of engagement with said supports during its 'movement toward and from its closed position, and cause the same to be supported upon narrow supporting surfaces, thereby greatly reducing the friction, and enabling the drawer to be very easily operated. I

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention and have shown the same as mounted in a compartment 1 formed in the base, or lower portion, 2, of a kitchen cabinet of a well known construction, butit will be apparent that the invention may be useful in various structures of a similar character. Slidably mounted within the compartment is a drawer 3 which, in the form here shown, comprises a shallow tray having a shelf 4 mounted on and arranged above the rear portion thereof. The side walls of the comwalls of the compartment. If the drawer were slidably supported upon the ledges 5 the frictional contact between the parts would be very great and when the drawer was heavily loaded considerable force would be required to move the same. To overcome this objection I have provided other, means for slidably supporting the drawer, and to this endI haveprovided the lateral edges of the drawer with outwardly extending parts, or projections, 7, which in the presentinstance are in the form of studs, and which may if desiredbe provided with antifrictional rollers. As here shown these studs have sleeve-like rollers mounted thereon.

The studs 7 are adapted to travel along guide-ways 9 secured to the side walls of the compartment adjacent to the lateral edges of the drawer. These guide-ways may be formed in any suit-able manner, but preferably each guide-way is formed between two strips, 10 and 11, of wood, or other suitable material, each guide-way being of a size to permit of the free lengthwise movement of the stud, or projection, 7, but to hold the same against vertical movement. The bottoms of the guide-ways, which are formed by the upper edges of the strips 10, are of such a height relatively to the ledges 5 and 6, that when'the projections, or studs, 7, are in engagement therewith the bottom of the drawer will be supported out of engagement with said ledges. Each track, or strip 10, is provided with a recess 12 which is here shown as arranged near the rear end of the track. These recesses are adapted to receive the respective studs 7 when the drawer is in its closed position, and are of such a depth that when the studs or projections lie within the recesses the adjacent portionof the drawer will be permitted to move downward into engagement with the ledges 5 and 6. Rigidly mounted in the side walls of the structure, and preferably carried by the strips 10 near the forward ends thereof, are inwardly projecting parts, or studs, 13, which are here shown as similar to the studs 7, and which may be provided, if desired, with antifrictional rollers. These studs are so arranged with relation to the bottom of the drawer that they will support the latter out of engagement with the ledges .3 and 6. To permit the drawer to move downwardly into engagement with the ledges it is provided in its bottom, near the lateral edges thereof, with recesses 14, so arranged as to receive the studs 13 when the drawer is in its closed position. The rear edges of the recesses in the drawer are cut away, or beveled, and the front edges of the recesses 12 in the tracks, or' strips, are likewise cut away, or beveled, so that a slight ull on the drawer, which is provided with a handle 15 for that purpose, will cause the drawer to move over the studs 13 and the studs 7 to move out of the recesses 12 onto the track surface of the strip 10. Inasmuch as the studs 7 are held against any material vertical movement they will prevent any pivotal movement of the drawer about'the studs 13, and will cause the same to be retained in a substantially horizontal position when it is fully opened.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that when the drawer is in its closed position the edges thereof will rest upon the several strips, or-

ledges, 5 and 6, and a tight joint will be formed between these parts, and inasmuch as the ledges are secured to the walls of the compartment, the ledges 5 being preferably mounted on the strips 10, which in turn are secured to the walls of the compartment, it will be apparent that nothing can enter the compartment from beneath the same. It will be obvious that the type of drawer here shown is not intended to close the front of the compartment, but that a separate closure is provided therefor. The front closure here shown is in the form of a flexible door 16 similar to that shown at 17 on the opposite side of the cabinet. When it is desired to withdraw the drawer the flexible closure 16 is first moved to its open position and the handle 15 of the drawer is grasped and the drawer pulled outwardly. The first movement of the drawer causes the bottom of the same to be lifted off of the ledges and causes the weight of the drawer to be supported by the several studs 7 and 13. The points of contact between the studs and their respective bearing surfaces are quite narrow and consequently the friction between these parts is very small regardless of whether the studs are provided with antifrictional rollers. WVhen the drawer is returned to its closed position the studs automatically enter the respective recesses and the drawer moves downwardly into engagement with the ledges, thus automatically closing the bottom of the compartment. It will be obvious that the character and arrangement of the supporting devices, that is the studs and recesses, may be varied from that here shown and similar results produced, but the mechanism here illustrated is very simple and inexpensive in its character and is absolutely positive in its operation, and is'of such a nature that there is very little or no likelihood of its becoming disarranged. 7

lVhile I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction as various modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having now fully described my inven tion, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A structure comprising a compartment having vertical walls, and a drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, said structure having ledges cooperating with said drawer, when the latter is in its closed position, to form a dust proof partition eX- tending across said compartment, said structure and said drawer also having cooperating parts to support said drawer out of engagement with said ledges during its movement toward and from its closed position.

2. A structure comprising a compartment having vertical walls, and a drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, said structure having ledges cooperating with said drawer, when the latter is in its closed position, to form a dust proof partition extending across said compartment, said structure and said drawer having coperating parts controlled by the sliding movement of said drawer toward and from its closed position to cause the same to be moved into and out of engagement with said ledges.

3. A structure comprising a compartment having vertical walls, and a drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, said structure having ledges cooperating with said drawer, when the latter is in its closed position, to form a dust proof partition extending across the compartment, said structure also having parts extending along the lateral edges of said drawer to form tracks, each of said parts having a recess therein, and track engaging parts projecting beyond the latter edges of said drawer to engage the respective tracks, said engaging parts being so arranged that they will lie in the respective recesses'when said drawer is in its closed position and will support said drawer out of engagement with said ledges when they have been moved out of said recess.

4:. In a structure having a compartment, a drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, said structure having ledges, extending along the walls of said compartment, upon which said drawer rests when in its closed position, and also having inwardly extending projections adjacent to the lateral edges of said drawer, said drawer having along its lateral edges parts adapted to rest upon and move over the respective projections, said parts having recesses formed in the lower portions thereof to receive the- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

ment, said structure having ledges, extending along the walls of said compartment, upon which said drawer rests when in its closed position, and also having parts ex-' tending along the lateral edges of said projecting beyond the lateral edges thereof and arranged to enter said recesses when said drawer is in its closed position, and also having parts adapted to rest upon and move over the projections carried by said structure, said parts having recesses in the lower portions thereof to receive the respective projections when said drawer is in its closed position.

6. In a structure having a compartment a drawer slidably mounted in said compartment, said structure having ledges extending along the walls of said compartment upon which said drawer rests when in its closed position, guide-ways formed on the walls of said compartment along the lateral edges of said drawer and having recesses near the rear ends thereof, studs carried by said structure and projecting inwardly beyond said guide-ways and spaced away from said recesses, studs carried by said drawer, proj ecting beyond the lateral edges thereof and adapted to travel in the respective guideways and to enter said recesses when the drawer is in its closed position, said drawer being arranged to rest upon and travel over the studs carried by said structure, and having recesses formed in the underside thereof to receive said studs when the drawer is in its closed position.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature hereto.

HENRY J. BITTER.

Washington, D. G. 

